PITTSTON - A cook at Romano's Pizza Pasta & Subs in Avoca was charged Monday with using his cellphone to secretly record women using the bathroom.

Charges say Joseph Dowd, 36, of 153 Cremard Blvd., Duryea, admitted to police he has been in therapy for an "addiction to pornography" and that he had recorded about five videos ranging in length from 30 to 50 minutes over the course of a month, charges say.

Police learned about the videos on April 11, when an employee of the restaurant reported she was using the bathroom when she found a cellphone hidden in a child's seat facing the toilet, according to a police affidavit. The phone had been recording video for almost 30 minutes, she said.

The employee told the owner of the business, Giuliano Carannante, who told her he would take the phone, which they thought belonged to Mr. Dowd, and see if he came looking for it, police said.

Mr. Carannante told police Mr. Dowd asked about the phone the next morning. When confronted about the video, he claimed he wasn't recording anyone, he had simply left the phone in the bathroom while cleaning it, according to police.

Investigators said Mr. Dowd deleted all the pictures and videos from his phone, but that he also consented to a search, when state police recovered two videos showing partially clothed women using the bathroom.

Confronted with the evidence, Mr. Dowd admitted to recording videos of women using the bathroom and to deleting them in an attempt to conceal the crime, according to the affidavit.

Police charged Mr. Dowd with two counts of invasion of privacy and one count each of tampering with evidence and unsworn falsification.

He was released on $1,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is set for May 15.

Mr. Carannante said Monday that Mr. Dowd is no longer working for the business. He declined to comment further, saying, "Everything is up to the cops."

Contact the writer: jhalpin@citizensvoice.com

We welcome user discussion on our site, under the following guidelines:

To comment you must first create a profile and sign-in with a verified DISQUS account or social network ID. Sign up here.

Comments in violation of the rules will be denied, and repeat violators will be banned. Please help police the community by flagging offensive comments for our moderators to review. By posting a comment, you agree to our full terms and conditions. Click here to read terms and conditions.

Think you have the cutest pet in NEPA? Share a photo of your furry companion and you could win prizes from our sponsors! Deadline to submit an entry is March 19, and voting will take place from March 20-March 31.